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This month, Hillary Clinton introduced the American Health Choices Plan, which would provide Americans and Nevadans with quality, affordable heath insurance. I spoke at press conference this week at the University Medical Center in Las Vegas about the plan and its potential impact on Nevada. America's health care system needs change, and Hillary, after a lifetime of work on this critical issue, has developed a plan that will bring us that change.

I have been a registered nurse for almost 30 years; in the same hospital, and in the same Cardiovascular Surgical ICU in Las Vegas. Beginning in the early 1990s, I've seen health care go from being a service-driven industry, to a profit-driven industry. So, I chose to become active in both organizing my union and working in the political arena, in order to fight for the rights of my patients. And recently I decided to support the presidential candidate that has been in this fight with me since then - Hillary Clinton.

In my experiences as a nurse and as a Nevadan, I have seen patients and friends alike hurt by American's broken health care system. A very dear friend of mine, when plagued by the cancer that eventually took her life, became too ill to work and lost her health insurance. Confronting the illness of such a close friend, and watching her struggle without health insurance was one of the most painful moments of my life. The only thing she really needed was the only thing I was unable to give her: adequate health insurance. Situations like this occur all too frequently under our current health care system. As a result, Americans die or spend a lifetime of savings fighting an illness that they neither asked for nor could have foreseen.

Hillary's American Health Choices Plan will ensure that job loss or family illness will never lead to a loss of coverage or exorbitant health care costs. Americans will be able to change jobs without the fear of being denied coverage or being unfairly priced out of the market. And no one will be denied coverage because their health condition may not benefit an insurance company.

More than 496,000 Nevadans are without health insurance. 101,000 of them are children. I have seen many of them in my day-to-day work in the ICU, where patients have not been able to afford necessary medications or seek the medical care required to maintain their usual state of health. The consequences of this are, as you can imagine, serious and often fatal.

Hillary's plan takes a common sense approach to solving America's health care crisis. It places a focus on preventative care and ensures all have the access to coverage no matter their medical history. The plan also provides many options for American families to choose from in receiving health care. It you like your current coverage, you can keep it. If you don't there will be numerous other plans to select from, including the same coverage members of Congress receive.

The American Health Choices Plan will provide the best possible health care for Nevadans, and all Americans, at an affordable price both for the individual and the employer. It is the change in our health care system that America desperately needs.

This past Sunday was a very special day for the Mexican American community in Las Vegas, when we celebrated the Mexican Independence Day. Our community is known for celebrating alongside family, friends and neighbors at a local park full of fun fiestas, music and delicious food.

In Las Vegas, the Hillary Clinton for President Campaign was joined by one of our community's most inspirational leaders, Dolores Huerta.  Alongside Cesar Chavez, Dolores began a farm worker movement and started the "United Farm Workers Union". Spending such an important day with Dolores, who was one of the first Latinas to endorse Senator Clinton, was incredible! Dolores, along with field organizers from our campaign, registered new voters, spoke with families about our phenomenal candidate, and reveled in the beauty of the Latino community in Las Vegas.

We started our day off at Sunset Park, in the central part of Las Vegas, where Dolores began registering voters, walking the park with volunteers and field organizers and was greeted with hugs and fond memories of those who admire her so much. Dolores spoke of Hillary's constant support of the Latino community, our children, our education, and our rights as Americans.

Dolores then joined the rest of our field organizers at Freedom Park, where volunteers and organizers had a campaign booth at the park full of information on how to get involved and get Hillary Clinton elected! Dolores spoke to over 5,000 people and asked that each person register to vote, get involved in the campaign and commit to caucus on January 19th in the state of Nevada.

We finished our day with the legendary Dolores Huerta at our campaign's local favorite restaurant, El Patron, along with our field organizers, and manager and Hillary supporter Hilda Sarti. Dolores spoke to our organizers about the history of grassroots organizing, the history of the United Farm Workers movement and the fight she helped lead for those workers' rights, and why she as a leader, has endorsed Hillary Clinton. Dolores not only inspired our field staff, but each person she encountered on this very special day for the Mexican American community!

La Campana de Hillary Clinton para Presidenta en Las Vegas, celebro este fin de semana en compania de uno de los grandes orgullos latinos: Dolores Huerta. Fue un dia muy especial para la comunidad hispana -- en particular para todos los mexicoamericanos de Nevada -- el celebrar junto a Dolores el Dia de la Independencia Mexicana. Nuestra comunidad es celebre por compartir con familiares y amigos en un ambiente festivo, algo que fue demostrado este pasado domingo.

Junto a Cesar Chavez, Huerta empezo la union de trabajadores agricolas United Farm Workers. El pasar un dia junto a Dolores -- que por cierto fue una de las primeras latinas en apoyar a la Senadora Hillary Clinton -- fue increible. Junto con los organizadores de nuestra campana, Dolores registro a nuevos votantes, hablo con el publico acerca de nuestra gran candidata, y disfruto de la comunidad latina en Las Vegas.

El dia empezo en Sunset Park, en la parte central de Las Vegas donde Dolores ademas de registrar votantes, camino en el parque con voluntarios y organizadores, donde se encontro con abrazos y antiguas anecdotas de algunas de las personas que tanto la admiran. Dolores hablo sobre el apoyo que Hillary Clinton siempre ha demostrado no solo hacia la comunidad latina, sino tambien hacia nuestros ninos, nuestra educacion, y nuestros derechos como estadounidenses.

Dolores se unio a nuestra campana en Freedom Park, donde voluntarios y organizadores estuvieron en un puesto de informacion, donde dimos a la gente detalles de como inscribirse para ayudar a elegir a Hillary Clinton como nuestra proxima presidenta. Dolores hablo frente a mas de 5,000 personas y alento a cada persona a registrarse para votar, para asi participar en el caucus del estado de Nevada.

Terminamos nuestro dia en el restaurante El Patron, junto a la legendaria Huerta, y la duena del restaurante y partidaria de Hillary, Hilda Sarti, ademas de todos los  organizadores de la campana. Dolores hablo acerca de la historia de la union de trabajadores agricolas, de como lucho por sus derechos,  y de porque apoya a Hillary Clinton.   Dolores no tan solo fue una inspiracion para nuestros organizadores, sino tambien para todas las personas que la conocieron por primera vez, durante este dia tan especial para la comunidad latina.

We have all heard that college is the best time of our lives. From sleeping in before late morning classes to afternoon tailgates and student events, from self-discovery and meeting new friends to expanding one's horizons, these are the good old days. Unfortunately, not every young person can afford to attend college no matter how strong their desire for continued education. And not every student fortunate enough to attend college is free from worry about how they are going to pay for it. College is expensive. Financial aid and student loan programs can be a huge relief for students dealing with the burden of paying for college themselves.

It's so important to have a president who understands the challenges facing today's college students, and appreciates just how important it is for so many of us to have this opportunity. As a Latina, and soon-to-be first generation college graduate, the opportunity to attend college at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, has been extremely rewarding for both me and my family. In today's highly competitive job market, it is even more important than ever before to have a college diploma. I only wish more my age could have the same opportunity.

I began interning with Nevadans for Hillary at the beginning of this semester. Through my work on the campaign, I have already learned about Senator Clinton's life long work on behalf of students, and higher education. She has done her homework on the issues we face when exploring college opportunities, and she has introduced common sense legislation the will deliver us the assistance we need.

In fact, just last week, the efforts of Senator Clinton and her colleagues in the Senate really paid off. College students will benefit from the passage of a bill, The College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which offers $20.2 billion in student aid. As Senator Clinton said in a statement, "this bill includes a number of key components to help ease the crushing financial burden of attending college that many students and families face."

This recent bill is just one example of Senator Clinton's lengthy record as an ally to college students. Her most significant on-going effort may be her sponsorship of the Student Borrowers Bill of Rights. This bill provides basic rights to student borrowers who rely on loans to finance their education, such as affordable loan payments and transparency of information.

Senator Clinton understands that students may be discouraged from continuing their education because of high college costs. She has fought throughout her time in the Senate - and even before - to give every American the opportunity to achieve their dream of a college education. I'm proud to support Hillary Clinton. We need a President who understands the tough issues that confront college students. I am confident that with her knowledge and experience working on these issues, Hillary won't let us down!

Sen. Joyce Woodhouse has spent her entire life working to improve Nevada's public schools, as a first grade teacher, an elementary school principal, President of the Nevada State Education Association, Director of the School Community Partnership, and now as a state senator representing Clark County District 5. She is a founding member of Senator Clinton's Nevada Educators Leadership Council.

With the passing of Labor Day weekend, summer has officially come to a close and students across the state of Nevada are returning in record numbers to their classrooms. Having spent my entire career working to improve Nevada schools, I understand first hand the challenges that await our teachers and administrators, as they strive to provide the best educational opportunities for the diverse needs of our students.

Nevada students will face large class sizes and will have to fight for individual attention. Teachers will struggle to make do with sparse resources, meet the seemingly impossible benchmarks inherent in standardized testing, and serve students with special educational and language needs.

Nevada students and educators need a president with a demonstrated commitment to improving education and an understanding of the problems facing our school districts. Hillary Clinton is that candidate. Of all the presidential candidates that will criss-cross Nevada this fall in the hunt for the Democratic nomination, Hillary has the experience to fight for national policies that will support Nevada's public schools. As her husband said a few weeks ago in Reno, "my wife's probably spent more time in public school classrooms than anybody who has ever run for President, and that's a long, long time."

I believe Hillary Clinton has the best ideas to move our public schools forward. Let me tell you why.

I first had the opportunity to hear Hillary Clinton speak here in Las Vegas at UNLV, when her husband was running for his second term as president.  She lit up the whole stage. She gave a presentation about It Takes a Village, her groundbreaking book detailing her expertise and ideas on children's issues. As she shared her passion for children, she had no notes, and truly spoke from the heart for an hour an a half. The way she combined years of research with her delivery was dynamite. It was as if she was talking to me in my living room on issues that I have spent my life working on - yet there were 2,000 people in the room.

Hillary Clinton has stayed true to those same issues she spoke of back then - children, family, health care, education - for years now. Nevada's educational system needs Hillary Clinton's knowledge and experience. I am proud to be supporting her.